Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Lion tamer, animal trainer and circus impresario Clyde Beatty (June
10, 1903 - July 19, 1965) became famous for his "fighting act," in
which he entered a cage with wild animals with a whip and a pistol strapped to
his side. The act was designed to showcase his courage andmastery over wild
beasts, which included lions, tigers, cougars, and hyenas,
sometimes brought together all at once in a single cage in a potentially lethal
combination. At the height of his fame, the act featured as many as 40 lions
and tigers of both sexes. His fame was such that he appeared in films from the
1930s to the 1950s and on television until the 1960s. He was also the star of his
own syndicated radio series, "The Clyde Beatty Show", between 1950 and 1952. The
weekly programs featured adventures loosely based upon his real-life exploits.
However, the stories were more fictitious than real, and Beatty himself actually appeared in name only. In fact, Vic Perrin (not identified as such to the radio audience), actually impersonated him on the show. His "fighting act" made him the paradigm of a lion tamer for more than a generation; however Beatty was once mauled by a lion named Nero. The tamer was in the hospital for ten weeks as a result of this attack, yet he remained undaunted and actually later faced down Nero in a cage for the film “The Big Cage.”

His renown led to a couple of one-shot of comic book adaptations
and a long-running serialized adventure published by Dell. Today’s featured
story is from Crackajack Funnies #40 (Oct. 1941); originally published by Dell
and illustrated by Jim Chambers. I’m calling this previously untitled tale “The
White Savages.” Be advised that there are some racist elements in the depiction
of his Chinese aide de camp, Wig Wong, that are typical for the period. The
Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book Plus", as the source of this
classic comic story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and
artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here
solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

“Rango” was a Western sit-com starring comedian Tim
Conway which was originally broadcast on ABC in 1967. Conway played an inept Texas
Ranger who had been assigned to Deep Wells, the quietest post the Rangers
had; so as to keep him from creating unnecessary trouble. They apparently had
wanted him removed from the service altogether, but were prevented from doing
so given that his father was their commander. Unfortunately Rango seemed to
bring plenty of trouble with him, as all manner of crime suddenly returned to a post that
had seen very little of it over the years.

Also appearing in Rango was the Native American character
Pink Cloud (played by Guy Marks), an overly-assimilated Indian who was very
fond of the ways of the whites and whose command of the English
language was generally better than theirs. (Example: "Rango say him
return when sun high over teepee. By that, I presume he meant that he would be
back by noon."). Frankie Laine sang the theme song for this goofy series which
ran for less than a year.

Today’s classic story titled “The Pride of the Rangers” is
from Rango #1 (Aug. 1967); a one-shot published by Dell Comics. The artwork is
by Sal Trapani. The Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book Plus", as the
source of this classic comic story. Note: The copyright for this issue,
its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and
is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

Friday, June 14, 2013

Right off the bat, let me say that Amy Adams is a repeat "Gal" Friday having earned her first slot back in 2009. Still, "Man of Steel" starring Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, and Michael Shannon opens worldwide today, and she is the latest actress to fill the iconic role of intrepid reporter Lois Lane. I see the obviously quite lovely (and perfectly red-headed) Ms. Adams as more of a classic Lana Lang-type, but then I didn't cast this flick. Considering that some of the leaked plot information breaks with established Superman canon in this film, it is surprising to me that they didn't also simply forgo having Lois on-hand for this movie, and just use Clark Kent's original Smallville sweetheart?

I hope that the star-studded cast lives up to the hype, and that the mixed reviews indicate only select fan critics anal personal opinions. I do have to add that the 2006 "Superman Returns" starring Brandon Routh wasn't as horrible as many folks have made out, and he was pretty good as Clark/Superman. I like what I've seen in the trailers and look forward to seeing this blockbuster film this weekend. Come and join me!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Kona, Monarch of Monster Isle debuted in Four Color
Comics #1256 (Feb. 1962) during a period of transition for publisher Dell Comics, before
his own self titled series started a few months later with issue #2 (dated June
1962). Faced with the prospect of losing the rights to all of the licensed
series that they had been publishing for Western Publishing (which had chosen to start
their own comic book company), Dell began a large scale campaign in which
numerous series and characters were created. This was designed to allow Dell to
survive as a company past the point of new rival Gold Key's creation. Of all the
characters created during this period, Kona was one of Dell's most successful titles. "Kona, Monarch of Monster Isle" would run to issue #21 (dated June 1964).

“Escape or Die” is basically Chapter 2 of the longer “The
Lost Valley of Night” story from Kona #11 (July-Sept. 1964); originally published
by Dell. This adventure was written by Paul S. Newman and illustrated by
Sam Glanzman. The Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book Plus", as the
source of this classic comic story. Note: The copyright for this issue,
its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is
reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.

Friday, June 7, 2013

English actress Natalie Dormer is best known for her roles
as "Anne Boleyn" in the Showtime series The Tudors and
as "Margaery Tyrell" in the hit HBO fantasy TV series Game of
Thrones. Natalie has a playful perkiness in her demeanor that tends to set her
apart no matter what role she plays, and besides, she’s exceptionally cute (and
occasionally nude in her acting choices). Add to that her penchant for playing
a mean game of poker (she came in second in the Celebrity Heat of the 2008 Women's
World Open in London) and she is also a member
of the LondonFencingAcademy.
Now, she can consider herself a permanent fixture of the Catacombs as well. Look for her guest appearance in three upcoming episodes of
the CBS TV series Elementary as Irene Adler. The show stars Jonny
Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan
Watson.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Tabu, Wizard of the Jungle returns to the Catacombs
today in a previously untitled tale that I’ve hit the easy button to dub “The
Talaki War Drums” from Jungle Comics #103 (Jul.1948); originally
published by Fiction House and illustrated by artist Maurice Whitman. The
Catacombs credits “Comic Book Plus” for providing the scans for this story. Note:
the copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belongs to the original
publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment
purposes. Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

I will be heading to the annual Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC later this week (click this link to view their impressive guest list), but I've just got to mention that an added thrill is the last minute addition [as of yesterday] of legendary artist Jim Steranko to Heroes visiting roster. Surprisingly, he's never actually been to this popular show before. I know that it has been over a decade since I last had an opportunity to see him. If you happen to be in the region, I "highly recommend" that you visit the Queen City of the Carolina's and indulge yourself in all good things comics this Friday-Sunday, June 7-9, 2013

How it all began ....

In 1933, publishers at Eastern Color Press, intent to make better use of their printing equipment (which frequently sat idle between jobs), came up with the idea of printing an 8-page comic section that could be folded down from the large broadsheet to a smaller 9-inch by 12-inch format. The result was the first modern comic book. Containing reprints of newspaper comic strips, this experimental comic book titled "Funnies On Parade" was given away for free. It proved so popular that the following year Eastern published "Famous Funnies" and took the bold step of selling the comic for ten cents through chain stores. The enterprise was a smashing success and Eastern began churning out numerous reprints on a monthly basis. Other publishers, eager to get in on the profits, jumped on the bandwagon and the comic book industry was born!